A Moment of Recognition

Jay Hall Carpenter’s brilliantly lifelike and engaging sculptures have fascinated viewers at the State Department, the Smithsonian Institution, Canterbury Cathedral and elsewhere. What a sculpture is “worth,” he said, depends on a series of judicious choices — both about what to convey and what to leave to the imagination.

That is especially true of his new bust of John Francis Cardinal O’Hara, C.S.C. The bust is featured prominently in the new north addition to the Mendoza College of Business building, which also bears O’Hara’s name in recognition of his role as founding dean. 

Although O’Hara founded the College as a young man, the sculpture depicts him in the highest office he held: that of cardinal and archbishop of Philadelphia. The Cardinal is captured in a moment of recognition as a warm smile passes across his face.

“The viewer could imagine the Cardinal visiting the College in his later years,” Carpenter explains, “and returning and seeing an old friend, a colleague, or a former student that he remembers well.”

The sculpture’s posture and attitude are meant to suggest the friendliness, concern and warmth that came to define O’Hara’s time on campus, especially during his role as Notre Dame’s longtime prefect of religion, which made him the chief religious advisor of thousands of Notre Dame students.

Although Carpenter’s bust of O’Hara is his first commissioned sculpture from the University of Notre Dame, he is known nationally and internationally for his ability to capture the distinct character and personality of great figures who have shaped the United States of America, and especially those who have formed its moral and religious life. 

He captured the incandescent brilliance and relentless abolitionist spirit of Frederick Douglass, portraying him standing alongside a podium in a moment of fiery oratory for the Frederick Douglass Memorial in Easton, Maryland. A contrasting piece is Carpenter’s sculpture of Muppets creator Jim Henson, who is depicted engaged in an intimate conversation with Kermit the Frog in a memorial for Henson’s alma mater, the University of Maryland.

Many of Carpenter’s most well-known works are part of a building: the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He produced more than 500 gargoyles, angels and other carvings and sculptures during his two decades as the cathedral’s sculptor-in-residence.

Despite his decades of experience, Carpenter encountered new artistic and technical challenges and opportunities in depicting Cardinal O’Hara.

One was the stunning array of detail required to depict O’Hara’s vestments, which include a short cape known as a mozzetta, lace sleeves and a decorated cardinal’s hat. Another challenge was O’Hara’s distinctive spectacles. In his lifetime, O’Hara was most often photographed wearing the spectacles, but sculpting them was not a viable option.

“The bust will be bronze. And since these were rimless glasses, there’s almost no way to sculpt them to allow the viewer to see his eyes,” Carpenter explained.

In the end, Carpenter decided to sculpt O’Hara holding the spectacles in his hand along with a book.

“The book,” Carpenter said, “is to represent his intellectual curiosity, and anyone seeing the sculpture can decide for themselves what book he’s holding. It could be a religious text, it could be a business text, or whatever might have caught his curiosity that day.”

The heroic-scale bronze bust is slightly larger than life and emerges through Carpenter’s methodical process: maquette or small-scale model, full-scale clay sculpture and final casting in bronze. Features of the space where the bust is installed affect how the viewer interprets the finished sculpture. In this case, a doorway to the left of the bust serves as the primary entry point for visitors. Carpenter presents O’Hara’s head turned toward the entryway, suggesting he’s responding to the person entering.

As long-time Notre Dame Magazine editor Kerry Temple pointed out in his history of the College, those who study business at Notre Dame are “O’Hara’s Heirs.” So one can’t help but note the connection to the sculpture in its moment of recognition, which invites the entrant to the new addition not just to recognize the man cast in bronze but to imagine being recognized by him, welcomed as heirs to his legacy and his vision.

2026 Magazine Issue